Guide means



J. L.- GARVEY GUIDE MEANS Aug. 27, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 24. 1966 ATTORNEf-S INVENTOR.

United States Patent() 3,398,566 GUIDE MEANS Joseph Lee Garvey, P.O. Bx 1270.,

. Warren, Ohio 44482 Filed Jan. 24, 1966, Ser. .No. 522,678 7 Claims. (Cl. 72-250) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE v 3,398,566 Patented Aug. 27, 1968 ice having a pair of keys 22 slidably fitting in keyways 23 formed in the support 16. Each block also has a depending lug 123 which extends through an elongated opening 124 in the support 16. An adjusting screw 24 'has threaded engagement with each of the lugs, the opposite ends of the screw having threads of opposite hand so that as the screw is rotated, the edge guides are simultaneously A guide for guiding a steel strip to' the pass of a set of rolls, including a pair of edge guides for engaging opposite edges of the strip, and a selected number of blocks disposed and clamped between the edge guides to provide a surface engaging a flat side of the strip, each block having one or more rollers operable to proteet the block surface from at least some frictional en'- gagement with the strip.

My invention relates to guide means, more particularly to means for guiding metallic elongated strip material to a rolling stand wherein the strip is reduced in thickness, and the principal object of my invention is to provide new and improved guide means of such character.

In the drawings accompanying this description and forming a part of this specification, there is shown an embodiment which my invention may assume, and in these drawings: 7

FIGURE 1 is a generally schematic view of steel strip passing from an uncoiler to a reducing roll stand,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a presently preferred embodiment of my invention,

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of a part forming the structure shown in FIGURE 2, a part being shown in section,

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional View corresponding to the line 44 of.FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a separator meniber which may be used in the structure shown in FI G- URE 2, and

FIGURE 6 discloses a pair of guide meansarran'ged to form a pass for the travelling steel strip. I,

In the usual steel mill rolling operations, the steel strip is fed through the passes of successively arranged roll stands and the thickness of the sheet is progressively reduced. Referring particularly toFIGURE 1, the strip S is shown as being unwound from an uncoiler 10 which may be of any desired construction. In many cases, the strip is looped, as shown at 11, to provide acertain amount of slack, and then passes over idler rolls '12-12. The strip then passes through the guide means '14of my invention and to the reducing roll stand 15.

The guide means 14 is designed to smoothly guide the strip S to the pass of the roll stand 15. As seen in FIGURES l and 2, the guide means rests on a support 16 which is normally fixed in positionadjacent to the roll stand, but is movable toward and away from the pass line in any suitable manner. The guide means comprises a pair of edge guides 1717, each of which is of standard construction and usually made as a bronze body formed with a shoulder 18 which is adapted to engage behind an offset 19 in the support 16.

The edge guides 17 have rectilinear surfaces 20 which face each other and are adapted to engage the opposite edges of the strip to align the latter edgewise with the roll pass. The edge guides are mounted for movement toward and away from each other to adapt for strips of various widths, and this adjustment may be effected in any desired manner.

In the presently disclosed embodiment, pressure blocks 21 are bolted to respective edge guides 17, each block and equally moved toward a center line of the support 16, which centerline is aligned with the center of the pass. In some instances, the adjustment just described is dispensed with to reduce costs, and the support 16 is formed with side flanges 16a (shown in dot-dash lines in FIGURE 2) and suitable spacer means are disposed between the flanges 16a and the outside surface of respective edge guides 17.

Heretofore, a plurality of hard wooden members, such as the member 25 shown in FIGURE 5, were disposed in side-by-side relation to span the space between the rectilinear surfaces 20 of the edge guides 17, the members forming the floor of a trough which includes the edge guides 17. The side of the strip S would engage the hard wooden floor and be guided to the pass line of the roll stand. However, the wooden floor would wear relatively rapidly and required replacement frequently and thus became an expensive and annoying item. Further the moving steel strip would pick up Wooden slivers or fragments which interfere With or adversely affect subsequent operations on the strip and parts produced therefrom. Also, steel slivers and fragments from the moving strip would become embedded in the wooden members 25 and scratch subsequent portions of strip moving through the guide means.

The guide means of my invention provides a more durable floor for the guide trough and eliminates the above mentioned objections. My improved guide means includes one or more similar blocks 26 which are preferably formed of bronze, and may be of webbed formation, as suggested in FIGURE 3, to reduce weight. To decrease frictional drag between the blocks 26 and the strip, I provide roll means which protect the surface of the block 26 from at least some frictional engagement with the strip S.

As best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, each block has a plurality of rolls along its extent, each roll being formed as a cylindrical rod 27 of hardened steel. The block 26 has recesses formed in it to provide circular sockets 28 for closely receiving respective rods, each socket, as seen in FIGURE 3, encompassing more than half the circular periphery of its rod to hold the latter from dislocation from its socket. The hardened steel rods and the bronze of the blocks form compatible bearing metals so that the rods are freely rotatable within their sockets. Each rod has a peripheral portion projecting beyond the flat surface of the block 26 and in position at all times to engage the side of the strip and thereby protect the latter from picking up bronze deposits from the block 26, which deposits may interfere with subsequent plating or enameling of objects made from the steel strip. Side plates 30 may be bolted to opposite sides of the block 26 to hold a respective rod 27 against axial displacement from its socket.

As shown in FIGURE 2, a wooden member 25 may be disposed between a pair of bronze blocks 26 to provide the desired spacing between the rectilinear surfaces 20 of the edge guides. However, the surface of the member 25 would be disposed below (or at least not above) the fiat surface of the bronze block and therefore would not be subject to wear. One or more of the wooden members 25 may be used, and they may be disposed between bronze blocks 26 and/ or between blocks 26 and the rectilinear surface of the edge guides 17, in order to achieve the desired spacing for a particular sheet width. Further, the

blocks=26 may be' furnished in modate variable spacing.

In the first roll pass, such as the pass receiving steel strip from the uncoi1er 10, a's .shown in FIGURE 1, .it maybe desired to place a back tension on the strip adja-' cent to the roll'stand 15, and to accomplish this a pair of guide means may be relatively disposed as shown in FIG- URE 6 so that the fiat surfaces of the bronze blocks 26 are in confronting relation and maintain the roller rods 27 in closely spacedrelation toform a pass for the sheet. The bronze blocks on the lower supporting surface 16- are arranged as above described, .;while the support. for the varying widths toaccom blocks on the .upper. platen 161 are-suitably clampedto a spacer 162 carried by the platen. By adjusting the platens 16 and 161 toward or-away from each other, the drag on the sheetmay be respectively increased or'decreased. In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention andit will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified, Without-=departing from the spirit of' the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto. I claim:

1. Guide means for guiding an elongated metallic strip to the pass of a set of rolls, comprising a substantially fiat supporting surface positioned adjacent to the pass of said rolls and having a shoulder extending crosswise of the direction of strip travel, a pair of edge guides supported on engagement'with-opposite'edges of*st-rips of varying widths, guide means between said edge guides and engageable with the flat side of the strip for guiding the latter to flatwise alignment with said pass, said guide means comprising a selected number of n'ietallic blocks disposed and clamped between saidrectilinear'surfaces and supported on said supporting; surface and'providinga flat surface offset inwardly -.of theconfines'of' rectilinear surfaces to provide a trough therewith .thrdugh which the strip passes on its way to said roll pass, each block having a plurality of circular recesses extending-normal to said rectilinear surfaces and inwardly from the flat b l ock surface, a circular'rod within'eachrecess and of a metal compatible with thetmetal of the block to providegoodljbearing relation, the marginal-surface ofeachrecess closely Cb? circling more than half the circularnperiphery of the as: sociatedyrod but less than allofsuch periphery; so that each rod is journalledi in its recess with a-peripheral por-i; tion projecting beyond said'flat surface-to protect the:-lat ter from at least some frictional engagement with said strip. j, f

3. The construction p f claim l wherein said guiding surface is recessed to provide a socket which closely encompasses morexthan half the circular periphery of said roll means to 'holdthelatter from dislocation in a direc= tionnormal to said guiding surface: a v 4. .Theconstructionofclaim 3, wherein theimaterials "i providing said guiding surface and said roll ineans'are.

said surface for adjustment toward and away from each other, said guides being disposed in the line of strip travel and engageable with the opposite edges of the strip to guide the latter for edgewise alignment with said pass, each of said guides having movement induced by the drag of the strip thereagainst, and guide means between said edge guides and engageable with the flat side of the strip for guiding the latter to fiatwise alignment with said pass, said guide means comprising a guiding surface and roll means projecting upwardly from said guiding surface, said roll means being operable to protect said surface from at least some frictional engagement with said strip, and said guide means having a portion engaging said surface shoulder to hold it against movement induced by the drag of the strip thereagainst. I i

' 2. Guide means for guiding an elongated metallic strip to the pass of a set of rolls, comprising a supporting surface positioned adjacent to the pass of said rolls, a pair of metallic edge guides supported on said supporting surface, one having a rectilinear surface directed toward a rectilinear surface of the other and each being mounted for adjustment so-that the rectilinear surfaces may be moved toward and away from each other for guiding compatible bearing materials. v 5."The construction of claim 4 wherein the material providing said guiding surface is bronze and wherein sai roll means is a circular rod of hardened steel. 6. The construction of claim Swherein saidedge guides are formed of bronze and are adjustable towardand away from each other to accommodate a selected'tn'm'iberv of said guide means therebetween to provide-forstrips of various widths. 1 i a 7.- The construction of claim 9, wherein pairs of blocks are relatively arranged with their flat surfaces in confront-1 ing relation, 'the projecting peripheral portions .of said hardened steel rods forming a-pas's through which said strip moves. c References Cited V p V UNITED STATES PATENTS 132,120 880". Fisheg,; 193-.-35 572,175, 12/1896 Mcl7"add en 198-167 591,5 63,.i10 1 8,97 Mcl' adden, 172-7223 608,382 8/1828 McMuitry 198167 651,868 .6/1900. Leibert 72-2 5 0 2,184,118,12/1939 Glenn ,72 25.0 72,296,683. 9/1942 'onAgLasw. LAN AM, Primary E atar nin e ra H.'D. HOINKE S, Assism'nt'Examinen- 

